The big Diwali shopping season wasn't all that big this year, says BofAML

The report said about 70 per cent of retailers suggested revenues were lower year-on-year

The festival of Diwali is supposed to herald India’s biggest shopping season of the year. Purchases did happen, but not a lot, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.

More than 90 per cent of storekeepers indicated footfalls were lower than the last year’s festival period, according to the report, based on analysts’ visits to more than 120 retail outlets in the financial capital of Mumbai in the week leading to Diwali, the country’s equivalent to Christmas.

“Despite the festive season, we observed several empty shelves and early store closures,” said Sanjay Mookim, an equity strategist at the bank. “Mumbai